Make it stand out.
2021-22 Community Curation Fellows↓
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Moving Image Archive (MARMIA)
About MARMIA: The Mid-Atlantic Regional Moving Image Archive is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and access of movies and sounds that document the arts, history, and culture of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region—Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
About their fellowship:MARMIA is collecting and recording the experiences of Black Americans who worked in television and radio broadcasting on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Twenty-five hours of oral history recordings will be added to the Chesapeake Heartland digital archive, as well as inside MARMIA’s Broadcasting Oral History Collection.
Darius Johnson
About Darius Johnson: Both a Kent County High School graduate and a graduate of Washington College, Darius is currently the Executive Director of Kent Attainable Housing. Prior to his work with Kent Attainable Housing, Darius worked for the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and the Maryland Center for Construction Education & Innovation.
About his fellowship: Darius is researching, collecting, and documenting insights into how African American neighborhoods in Kent County have changed from generation to generation and what those changes mean for the sustainability of African American culture and pride across the community. These contributions will be added to the Chesapeake Heartland digital archive and made available to as educational assets to organizations and stakeholders.
THROUGHLINES
About the collaborators: Jonna McKone is a photographer, producer and filmmaker whose work blends documentary, archives and the abstract to explore the connections between land, power and memory. Minary’s Dream Alliance is a non-profit in Kent County that transforms the lives of youth, families and communities through education, resource development and community engagement.
About their fellowship: THROUGHLINES is a collaborative food, research, documentary and recipe project involving Minary’s Dream Alliance (MDA), artist and documentarian Jonna McKone, and the youth and seniors of Kent County. Weaving together a spring-to-fall growing season, the project works closely with youth who learn about growing, harvesting, and cooking skills at MDA’s satellite organic garden. The youth partner with seniors in the community, delivering fresh food and gathering stories.
African American Historical Signage and Visualization Project with Karen Somerville
About the African American Historical Signage and Visualization Project and Karen Somerville: The Project seeks to commemorate the contributions of the people, places, and events significant to the local heritage and culture in Chestertown and Kent County. Karen Somerville is a local historian and renowned performance artist who, since the 1994 preservation initiative of the African American Schoolhouse Museum at the historic one-room school at Worton Point, MD, has continued that work through curation of photographs, artifacts, and the commemorative efforts in local Black communities.
About their fellowship: This project places historical markers of extraordinary contributions of local people and events in pertinent locations throughout the town of Chestertown, including historic signage at the Port of Chestertown Marina, the site of the former Uptown Club, and a sign that memorializes Emma Miller, whose contributions helped to fund and build the Garnet School.
Smalltowns BIGARTISTS LC
About Smalltowns BIGARTISTS LC: Smalltowns BIG ARTISTS LC is a music collective based out of Chestertown, MD.
About their fellowship: Smalltowns BIGARTISTS’ "Little’s" children’s program teaches youth about Chestertown’s rich musical history through music, acting, dance, and creative workshops and will culminate with a July 2022 “Performance in the Park” event.